Psychological theories of crime Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Psychological theories of crime - Research Paper Example Most governments in the contemporary societies are secular in nature; however, they uphold the dictates of religions that also consider such acts unethical thus referring to them as sins. Various psychologies provide varied explanations on criminal behaviors thus their prevalence as explained in the essay below. Governments provide elaborate definitions of crime with the view of upholding the liberties enjoyed by the population. In order to uphold, the liberties, the government spells out the actions that constitute a criminal activity and enforces adherence to such guidelines. Acting in a manner contrary to the existing laws earns an individual a prison term with effective punishment and compensation to the offended arties. However, in doing so the government must uphold ethical standards and maintain a level of credibility. Most governments in democratic societies treat offenders as innocent until proven guilty after which the law provides for appropriate punishments. The existence of such legislations coupled with the effective and efficient enforcement mechanisms thus make the prevalence of violent activities attitudinal. As psychological products, several psychologists analyze the prevalence of crime in an attempt of analyzing the origin of the defiant attitude that compels one to beak all the laws and moral dictates to commit a crime (Grimm, Pianta & Konold, 2009). Key among the theorists is Sigmund Freud. Often considered the father of modern day psychology, Freud has postulated various theories all of which strive to explain the nature and prevalence of crime (Rosenberg & Turner, 1990). The personality psychologist seeks to explain the nature and prevalent of crimes in his psychodynamic perspective which he asserts explains the changes in a people feelings and psychological perspective. In his theory of psychoanalysis, Freud explains that all human behaviors are products of the unconscious mind. This he explains includes aggressive and violent behaviors . Feud explains that several forces in an individual’s unconscious mind the result of which are the varied human behaviors. Additionally, he explains that childhood experiences are also equally important influencers of an individual’s behavior in adulthood. According to Freud’s explanation, development of a multi staged process with each stage having unique requirements. The successful growth of an individual from one stage to another creates a uniform growth pattern and a peaceful succession into adulthood. However, such cases are rare with most people failing to overcome the challenges presented by every stage. This results in the recurrent of the stage challenges in progressive stages thus creating a growth crisis. Freud thus believed that the conflicts that people face in their different psychosexual stages of life influence their behaviors in adulthood. With such elaborate explanations, understanding waves of violence and criminal activities become easier ( Grisso & Steinberg, 2005). Such are products of the forces in the unconscious state of mind. A normal human being with effective understanding to the social and moral standards with a basic knowledge of the operations of the government especially concerning violence and crime should therefore overcome acts of aggression thus containing them within themselves. However, the failure by the unconscious m